Surprising a Ghost King
by percico-feels
Summary: Percy is acting weird and Nico doesn't have a clue about what's happening. And just to make things worse, now Percy and Annabeth are spending way too much time together for the Ghost King's liking. One-shot. Percico. Slash.


**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO, Rick Riordan does. And I don't get any money by writing this stories.**

- xXxXx -

**Surprising a Ghost King**

_by percico-feels_

Something was wrong, Nico could feel it in his bones, although he could not tell exactly what. Percy was acting weird, ignoring him for days now. Okay, maybe ignore was a bit too dramatic, because Percy was not refusing to talk to him. But every time the son of Hades ran into him or tried to start a conversation, the guy seemed eager to escape (what he eventually managed to do).

At first, Nico even thought he was overreacting, that Percy was not avoiding him. That had to be his imagination, he thought to himself, what reasons had Percy to be angry with the younger demigod? Nico could not recall a single one. But after almost three whole weeks of that stupid little game, the son of Hades was convinced that something had changed on their relationship and, he had to admit, Nico didn't like that one bit.

Since the war against Gaea ended, although there was a lot of emotional bullshit between them (especially from Nico's part), the two boys managed to build up a friendship. After so many horrors seen in the battlefield and their almost-death experiences, they finally understood that it made no sense holding grudges. The past is the past and, if they longed for a calm, normal life from that moment on, they couldn't waste their times keeping bad feelings over things that happened so long ago.

That was a very hard task to accomplish and Nico, more than anyone else, had to work hard to make it. His feelings toward Percy at that time were still extremely conflicting, even though the son of Hades tried to convince himself that he was already over it. To Nico, until those feelings persisted, the two of them could never be truly friends.

It took a while, but in the end Nico understood that, for him and Percy to be friends, he didn't need to get rid of his feelings, that was impossible! What he felt for the son of Poseidon was too strong to be extinguished that easily. So he took a simpler path. Instead of getting over these feelings, Nico simply accepted them. Maybe it sounds way easier than it truly was (because seriously, it was anything but easy) and even a little silly, but Nico's acceptance was the key to the beginning of his and Percy's friendship. With time the two of them got really close, used to hang out a lot, and as unbelievable as it can seem, being close to Percy cause no more pain to Nico as it used to, not even when Annabeth was around.

Another change that came with Nico's process of acceptance; he held no more resentment against Annabeth, it didn't make any sense doing so. He got that she and Percy shared a strong bond and mourning over it would just make him feel bad.

Of course, it wasn't always simple to keep his feelings so under control. Sometimes Nico would still find himself wandering how much he'd like if Percy returned his feelings, and other times, the son of Hades got back some of his old bitterness when the Golden Couple acted too sentimental for his liking. But that was a side effect of his own choice. Opening up for their friendship made him vulnerable to that kind of situation, but fortunately, Nico showed maturity enough to deal with those relapses.

It was a real shock to everybody when Percy and Annabeth broke up, though. They seemed such a perfect couple that everyone on camp agreed that they would be together until the end of time. But frustrating everybody's belief they did broke up and, when this happened, Nico didn't know exactly how he felt about it. Part of him wanted to grow some hope, wanted to believe that, now that Percy was single again, maybe he had a chance. That was a tempting idea, sure, but his rational side (the side he chose to listen in the end) told him that growing those kinds of hopes would only bring him more unnecessary pain. He and Percy were friends and that was all that they would ever be.

Nico had no need to comfort Percy, or resent Annabeth again. Their break up was something they both agreed about, with no fighting over, so they remained friends. None of them said a thing about the subject, though, and no one ever knew the exact reason to the end of their relationship. And Nico never asked about it either; if they had no intention of talking, he had no intention of asking.

Actually, very few things changed with their break up. The only big change was that Annabeth no longer spent a great amount of time with the boys. And that ended up making those two closer than ever and even when Percy went home after summer, Nico always took time to visit him.

And their lives went on. With a monster here and there, a couple of quests and as normal as the life of any demigod could be, and Nico had to admit that it was not a bad life at all. He and Percy were friends, had a lot of fun together and understood each other. That was more than the son of Hades imagined he could ever have and, in a certain way, he was fine with it.

The problem, however, started during the third summer after the war. More specifically, short after the beginning of that summer.

It took Nico some time for being able to return to Camp Half-Blood that year. He'd been extremely busy in the Underworld helping his dad and he managed to go back to camp only two weeks after everybody. Percy was already there, obviously, and greeted Nico with the same enthusiasm as ever. At that time, Nico was already at the age of seventeen (almost eighteen) and his feelings towards the older demigod were under control for some time, even though they were not completely gone yet.

"A little late, aren't we?" Percy asked, hugging him briefly and his trademark smirk was visible on his tanned face.

"The Underworld's been kinda crazy lately, It took me more time to finish my last work than I thought it would" Nico replied, making a face "Two weeks living under the same roof as Persephone. I've never been so eager to come back to camp."

Percy offered him a sympathetic look. Having to live your goddess step-mother was something he knew, due to own experience, could be really unpleasant.

"Poor you" he said, as they walked through camp, to where the Cabins were disposed "I really wouldn't like to live two whole weeks on the same place as Amphitrite."

"At least your step-mother never turned you into a plant or other stuff" Nico replied calmly, even though that was not one of his fondest memories.

His reply caused a lot of chuckles on the other demigod and the two of them made their way on that same pleasant atmosphere of companionship. The son of Poseidon walked with Nico to Cabin 13, where they said their goodbyes after agreeing to meet again by the lake, as soon as he was done unpacking.

That was a good start of summer, although Nico couldn't even imagine what still expected him.

* * *

A week and a half after Nico's arrival, Percy started to put some distance between them. It started discretely. When Nico got somewhere Percy was, he'd always find an excuse to go anywhere else after some time. The time they spent together decreased gradually and, often, during the bonfire the son of Poseidon wouldn't even show up. That bothered Nico a lot and, after a couple of days, he was already considering the idea that he had angered his friend on some way.

The son of Hades also noticed that, for gods know why, Percy and Annabeth were growing closer again, as they were usually seen together on Camp. They never stopped being friends since their broke up, but they never spent _that_ much time together either. All that change was kind of frustrating and even if he tried to convince himself he had no reason to be upset with any of his friends, that was how he truly felt.

But he was not let that situation get any worse, though. If he had done anything that made Percy upset, Nico wanted to know what it was. And with that thought in mind, the son of Hades walked straight to Cabin 3 and knocked on the door loudly.

Percy opened it seconds later and, if Nico wasn't paranoid yet, the green eyed guy seemed a bit nervous by his presence there.

"Nico! What's up, man?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

But the fact that Percy couldn't stop moving and barely opened the door to greet the other demigod properly made it clear that he was far from calm.

"I just wanted to know if you're okay" the younger answered suspiciously "You didn't show up last night for the bonfire."

_'Neither did Annabeth'_ he wanted to say, but thought it would be better not.

"I was kinda tired after training, the Ares' kids are tough to beat" Percy replied shrugging "Went to bed early."

Nico did not buy that story for a second. Since when _Percy_ admitted the Ares kids were tough to defeat? That was weird, to say the least. His feeling that something was wrong just grew.

"Hazel and Frank are coming to Camp today, I also came here to ask if you want help me do the honors and greet them" Nico suggested, after a long pause.

"Ehr... I can't. I, well... I promised Annabeth I was going to help her... with some stuff. She's on her way here, I think."

If Nico had to describe what he was feeling at that moment, disappointment was not even near it, but he covered his true feelings perfectly. He nodded quietly and was already preparing to leave, when he changed his mind and faced Percy once more. The older boy was already closing the door.

"Percy, is everything okay between us?" he asked frowning.

Percy seemed to gulp, but chuckled a couple of seconds later. A strangled, humorless kind of chuckle.

"Of course it's everything okay between us" he said, a bit to quickly to sound convincing "Why wouldn't it be?

"I don't know, I just thought that maybe you were upset with me" Nico commented, burying his hands deep on his jacket's pockets "I haven't seen you in a while."

Another nervous chuckle escaped Percy's lips.

"Naah, we're good. You did nothing wrong."

Nico did not argue. Before he could say anything, Annabeth called out Percy's name and was already reaching the Cabin. With nothing more to do there, Nico said goodbye to both of them and headed to his own Cabin. Something was definitely wrong, now he knew it for sure.

Percy closed the door behind him as soon as Annabeth got inside the cabin. He rested his body on the wooden surface, being finally able to breathe again. His heart thumped on a quick pace and his hands were sticky and sweaty. For his father's sake, for a couple of moments, the guy thought Nico would keep questioning him non-stop.

"You're okay, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked, as she noticed her friends nervousness.

Percy's green eyes stared on the figure of his best friend standing right in front of him and he nodded.

"I'm good" he said "But Nico is suspicious. He thinks something's happening."

"Of course he thinks that, Nico's a smart guy" the daughter of Athena pointed amused "And you're acting all weird when next to him. I've already told you, stop freaking out and just act normal!"

Annabeth was his best friend, that was a fact Percy would never deny, and she was for sure one of the smarter persons he knew. But gods, she sometimes was so blind when it came to feelings and sentimental stuff. Percy just shook his head.

"I just can't stay too much time near him, I know I'll blurt out something if I do. It's getting harder to control myself when Nico's around, did you saw how he looks? Gods, he's getting hotter every day. What if I do something stupid 'cause I can't control my freaking hormones? I'll drown myself on purpose if something like that happens."

It was really hard for Annabeth to decide if she should laugh of Percy's desperation, or if she should pity him. She chose the second option, for obvious reasons.

"Don't freak out yet, Seaweed Brain, this whole thing will be over soon" she assured him calmly "We just need to focus and follow the plan. Everything's going to end just fine."

"I hope so."

* * *

"Did you notice anything unusual on Percy's behavior these past weeks" the son of Hades asked Jason, while the two of them waited Frank and Hazel's arrival.

They were sitting on the porch in front of Cabin 1, protecting themselves from the hot-as-hell sun that shone that morning (Apollo seemed to be in a very good mood, 'cause the sun was too abnormally bright). The son of Jupiter cocked his head, facing his friend curiously.

"Actually no" he said "Why?"

Nico shrugged, trying to make it look as if it wasn't something important, but he never turned to face Jason properly. Instead, he preferred to keep watching as the other campers walked from one side to another through Camp Half-Blood.

"He's been acting kind of distant with me. Been spending quite some time with Annabeth too."

A loud sigh escaped Jason's lips, as he shook his head bemused.

"Don't tell me you're jealous again. I thought you were already past this fase."

Nico glared at the roman.

"I'm not jealous, I'm just stating a fact" he protested "Percy is acting weird with me and is spending a lot of time with Annabeth. I'm not paranoid, Grace."

If Jason believed him or not, Nico couldn't tell; his face was a perfect emotionless mask, and his silence made the younger demigod really uncomfortable. Nico looked briefly at his friend, before looking away again.

"I never understood one thing" Jason told him, after a few minutes of silence "You and Percy became friends while he and Annabeth still dated. It was something really brave of you to finally open up for their friendship considering... well, you know."

The son of Hades just nodded, encouraging Jason to proceed.

"But what I never understood was why, after they split up, you never tried to get together with Percy. I mean, when he was still with Annabeth, fine, but after they broke up? You finally had your chance and took no advantage of it."

"It's not that simple, Grace" Nico replied, still not looking directly to his friend.

As the years passed by, he'd learned to trust Jason. The son of Jupiter came out to be one of the most important persons on Nico's life and helped him during his worst moments, when the teen was still struggling to accept who he was. Anyways, he still felt a little shy to discuss the topic too openly, even when it was Jason who he was talking to.

"So..." the blonde continued, when Nico showed no intention on talking "What's the problem?"

The younger just rolled his eyes impatiently.

"Percy's not attracted to me, Jason" he said, finally facing his friend properly "He sees me as a younger brother who needs his protection, nothing more."

"Percy likes you."

"Not the way I wanted him to."

Jason kept his mouth shut. The warning glare Nico was giving him was enough to let him know that the topic was out of discussion again, so he dropped it. Nico could be extremely stubborn when he wanted, so insisting on such a thing would bring no good for any of them.

* * *

Frank and Hazel's arrival on camp ended up being a great distraction to Nico, although he still had the feeling Percy was avoiding him. But it had been so long since he last saw his sister, that using their time together to over think things that could easily be just paranoia from his ADHD mind seemed just too unfair. So Nico decided he would not let those futile worries spoil his time with Hazel.

Keeping that in mind, the boy lead his sister to Cabin 13 in order to unpack, while Jason lead Frank to the Ares' Cabin.

"I still can't believe you really came to stay with me the rest of the summer" he commented, opening the door to Hazel.

She left her things on the bunk next to Nico's and faced him with a caring smile on her lips. The mere fact that Hazel was really there for him was enough to make Nico feel a bit better.

"Of course I came to stay with you, your birthday's next week!" she said "Have you already thought how're gonna celebrate it?"

"I'm not very fond of celebrations Hazel. I'm not gonna do anything."

The indignant expression that appeared on the girl's face was just too funny for Nico to hold a chuckle. Her hands rested on her hips, while she casted an incredulous look to her brother.

"You're kidding, right? Come on, Nico, it's your 18th birthday!"

"For me it's no big deal, it's just a day like any other. It doesn't really matter" he replied, shrugging.

If he was being honest, Nico wouldn't even had remembered his birthday was on the next week if Hazel hadn't mentioned. He never cared about birthday parties and found no sense on start caring now. It was just an ordinary day, end of story. Hazel, however, seemed to have a different opinion.

"Don't look at me like that, it won't work" he scowled, as soon as he realized her sister was going to say something "I'm not celebrating anything, okay?"

A low, frustrated growl left the girl's lips, but she ended up respecting her brother's wish.

"You're the birthday boy, do as you want" she told him, unzipping her backpack to start unpacking "But I really think you should celebrate it somehow."

Nico just smiled and crossed the room, to where Hazel was standing. He took the articles of clothes she had on her hands and put it on her bunk. Her golden eyes stared at Nico curiously for a brief moment, until she found herself trapped on a gentle, unexpected embrace.

"You're here with me, it's enough" the son of Hades mumbled, hiding his face on her silky curly locks.

Hazel bit her lip and, embracing her brother by the waist, she rested her head on his shoulder.

* * *

Time seemed to fly when Hazel was with him and Nico was sure it had something to do with the fact that her loving little sister was always dragging him around and didn't give him a single moment of rest. Hazel was always calling him to do something, even if it was just hang out with their friends and just talk, and during those five days she was with him, Nico had already spent more time outside his cabin than he remembered doing the last two years.

Frank was always with them and Jason, Piper and Leo would join whenever they had spare time. As for Percy... Nico had already given up trying to understand what was going on the son of Poseidon's head. If the guy had no intention to explain what the fuck was happening, than Nico would not care anymore (at least that was what he kept telling himself, of course).

* * *

On the afternoon of Hazel fifth day at camp, Nico promised to teach her and Frank to ride the pegasi. Okay, maybe _teach_ was a strong word to be used at the situation. The son of Hades was not an expert on riding those things (great part of the pegasi in camp didn't even like to come close him), but Hazel was so excited by the idea that he was incapable of saying 'no' to her. Piper joined them that day, since Jason was training the newbies and Leo was locked up on Bunker 9, doing gods know what.

The four demigods made their way to the stables on a pleasant atmosphere and the girls ran ahead of the others, as soon as they saw the pegasi. They were already playing and caressing the animals when Nico and Frank reached them.

So, after they found available pegasus to everyone, Nico gave the romans basic instructions about how to ride the animals. It was not very surprising when Hazel tamed her pegasus just a few minutes after they started flying. The daughter of Pluto had always shown great ability with horses and was more than used to riding Arion.

"You'll never catch me, McLean!" Hazel squealed happily, poking her tongue out to her friend.

The daughter of Aphrodite, who had way more practice flying pegasi than Hazel, stick out her tongue to her friend as well, then spurred her animal to go faster.

"I'm gonna make you regret what you just said, Levesque!" Piper shot back, giggling, as the two of them went into a crazy race through the sky.

"Those two are acting a bit crazy today, aren't they?" Frank commented, guiding his pegasus next to Nico's "What's the matter with them?"

Nico just shook his head.

"Don't try to understand women, just agree with them. Your life will get a lot easier that way, believe me" he said simply.

And Frank just laughed at the answer. How could he disagree with that?

* * *

Percy looked discretely from one side to another, before knocking on the door of Athena's Cabin. Great part of the camper was busy on some activity at that time of day to care about who was entering or leaving the cabins, but being careful was never a bad thing. The door slammed open seconds later, revealing a very annoyed Annabeth.

"I told you to enter without knocking, someone might see you if you just stand there" she complained, pulling her best friend inside the cabin and shutting the door slightly forceful.

"Okay, okay" Percy scolded grumpily "Did you talk to the Stoll brothers?"

"Yes. They said it's gonna be hard to get it, especially since they'll have just two days, but they're gonna make it anyway."

"Great"

She cast Percy a displeased look, as her hands rested on her hips.

"A little gratitude would be nice, you know?" Annabeth said "I'm working hard to help you with this whole thing."

Percy scratched the back of his neck. He was tired and in a terrible mood, but he shouldn't be throwing it all on Annabeth. She _was_ helping him indeed.

"I'm just feeling tired this past days, sorry if I'm acting like a jerk" he apologized sincerely "Your help is very important to me, Wise Girl. Really."

As the tense moment passed, the two friends finally got to work. Annabeth picked up her laptop and showed the new ideas she'd come up with that morning, to what Percy just listened patiently. They spent almost the entire afternoon locked up on the Athena Cabin and just when Annabeth's siblings started heading back from their activities that they realized how much time had truly passed.

Percy got up from his chair and helped his friend with the mess they'd made on her work table. They headed to the door in silence, but as soon as Percy stepped out of the Cabin, Annabeth called him out again.

"Percy, don't worry. Connor and Travis will get Nico's present" she told him softly "They always manage to get anything we ask, even if we don't know how."

The son of Poseidon nodded.

"I know, but it's just two days 'til his birthday. I should have asked them sooner."

"If there's anyone who can get this damn present on time is those two, really."

He knew Annabeth was right, but he just couldn't help being apprehensive. He shoved his hands onto his pockets and just nodded again.

"I know, I know" he said, opening a small smile "And thanks for helping me again. You're awesome, Wise Girl."

And stepping closer to his friend, he hugged her tenderly, depositing a kiss on her cheek. Annabeth chuckled, but hugged him back. When they got apart, she had a genuine smile on her lips.

"You're my best friend, I just want to see you happy" she told him simply "And gods know how much I want to see this grumpiness of yours gone!"

Percy made a face, faking annoyance. And after saying goodbye, the son of Poseidon made his way to his own cabin.

* * *

They spent great part of that afternoon flying the pegasi. Piper, in the end, was the winner of her little race against Hazel, but the daughter of Pluto didn't seem to care much about her defeat. Both girls had had so much fun that winning or losing was pointless to them.

Who thanked the gods when Nico suggested that they gave the pegasi some rest was Frank. On that day, the son of Mars learned something really important about himself. Riding flying horses was not his thing and he would be glad to do it only when extremely necessary. He preferred turn into a bird and accompany his friends, than ride an animal he couldn't understand or get used to.

At the end of the afternoon, they took the pegasi back to the stables and, as soon as they gave the animals some water and food, they headed back to the area where the cabins were disposed.

"See you at dinner, guys. I need a shower, like right now" Piper excused, taking the direction of her cabin.

"I need a shower too" Frank said "I smell like horses and I don't like it."

Saying goodbye to his girlfriend and Nico, the roman jogged to his father's cabin. Hazel and Nico were left standing there, just watching as their friends went their ways. But as the brothers stared at each other, it was impossible for Nico to miss the smug smile forming into his sister's lips.

"I shower first!" she said, racing to Cabin 13 with no more warning.

And in a few seconds, Nico was chasing her. He could have won that race easily if he wanted to; He could have shadow-traveled and be inside the bathroom in a couple of seconds, but chasing Hazel through Camp was much more fun.

"Got you!" the italian said, grabbing his sister by the waist and lifting her easily from the ground.

Hazel squealed a little, giggling, but shaking her legs like a child.

"Put me down, Nico" she demanded, slapping the arms holding her "You're sticky with sweat."

"And you're not much better" Nico teased, but did put her down anyways "But giving the matter some thought, you can shower first, you smell terrible."

Hazel slapped him on the arm again (this time really hard) as punishment, but thanks to their race, they were almost at their cabin's porch. She got up the stairs and tried the door, just to find it locked. Turning on her heels, the girl faced her brother and of course he was giving her a fake innocent look.

"Why the hell did you lock the door?" she asked, taking the keys he was handing to her.

"To keep those Stoll twins away from our things."

Shaking her head slightly, Hazel unlocked the door and turned to say something to her brother, but kept quiet immediately. Her brow furrowed.

"Is that Percy leaving the Athena cabin?" she asked confused.

Nico looked at the direction she was pointing. He had no doubt that was really Percy who was leaving the Athena cabin; only the son of Poseidon was capable of looking hot on that awful bright orange t-shirt. Seconds later, a second person appeared at the door and the head of blonde curly hair made it clear that was Annabeth.

The two of them seemed to be having quite a good talk, because Percy just kept nodding. And after some instants, Percy stepped closer to the girl, hugging her with enthusiasm and giving her a kiss. The angle from where he was looking didn't give Nico a clear view of the scene, so he couldn't tell exactly where Percy had kissed his ex-girlfriend, but he didn't want to find out either.

Nico felt sick by that display of affection between the couple and, having no stomach to keep looking at those two, he passed by Hazel and entered their cabin.

* * *

After a relatively long shower, Nico stepped out of the bathroom and back to the room he shared with Hazel. His heart ached with the mere memory of Percy kissing Annabeth, even though the son of Hades knew he was acting stupid.

What right did he have to be so upset for seeing the other guy kissing anyone? They were friends, for gods' sake, and friends was what they would always be. Why his fucking heart couldn't understand this once and for all? Sometimes Nico wandered if he wasn't a masochist because, really, that was the only plausible explanation for the fact that, even after three years, he still wasn't over his feelings for the son of Poseidon. On the contrary, Nico was quite sure his feelings for Percy were stronger than ever, even though he knew it would never be mutual. Really, what the fuck was wrong with him?

When Nico got out of the bathroom, drying his hair lazily with a towel, he found Hazel sitting on his bunk with an oddly worried look on her beautiful face.

"You told me you were over Percy" she said casually, with no accusation in her voice.

The son of Hades put the wet towel on one of the recliner chairs on there, before he joined his sister on his bunk.

"I told you I was okay with my feelings, I never told I was over it."

"And they're getting messed up again?"

Nico nodded quietly. How could he even start explaining what he was feeling right now? He himself was confused by that situation. It's been a long time since his feelings got out of control.

"I learned to control how I feel a some time ago, you know?" he said lost in thoughts "But since Percy and Annabeth broke up we've been spending a lot of time together. Maybe I've become a bit possessive over his attention again and now that Annabeth is back on the picture, I'm reacting not very nicely. Maybe I grew some hopes without wanting to."

His dark eyes were stinging a little, but Nico had no intention on crying. He had to control himself again and did not wanted Hazel to pity him. Still, when his sister pulled him on a comforting embrace, he offered no resistance.

"I'll always be here for you, whenever you need. And I'm sure our friends share the same opinion as me" she said softly "Never forget this. We're a family."

"I know."

And he wasn't lying.

* * *

The next day, Nico didn't feel like going outside (specially risking meet with Annabeth and Percy again) and, thank gods, Hazel allowed him to spend the day on his cabin. He was sure that had something to do with the incident on the day before, but he said nothing about the subject and just used the opportunity to enjoy his day locked on his dark room, having for company only his iPod and headphones.

Of course, this tranquility didn't last very long. At lunch, his cabin was invaded by Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Leo and even Calypso, who had arrived at camp that morning. They brought lots of trays with food and made a real picnic on his room, once Nico refused to go outside before they could even ask.

It was good having his friends with him, although the son of Hades would never admit such a thing out loud and made a great effort trying to keep his mask of indifference and annoyance when they were around. That was part of his facade, he couldn't turn into a smiley idiot... he had a name and reputation to defend!

Their afternoon ended up being quite fun. They ate until none of them could even stand the sight of food anymore and, after their generous meal, Frank and Leo challenged Nico for a Mythomagic match, which was the best part of his day.

When Nico found out, during the war against Gaea, Frank's obsession for Mythomagic, he also found a friend to share that interest he had without feeling too weird and soon enough, they started playing the game frequently. It didn't take long for Leo to take some interest on learning the game and, with some practice (and help) he became quite a good player, although he was still no match for the other two boys.

Jason, Piper, Calypso and Hazel chose not to play that day. Sometimes it was much funnier just watching those three; their reactions and facial expressions were always priceless (and sometimes someone needed to be paying attention, because it was not unusual for them to start a serious fight over the game).

"It's not fair, you beat my Minotaur!" Leo grumbled, glaring at Frank.

"Not fair my ass, it's part of the game" the chinese replied serious "You're a poor loser."

With Leo out of the match, Nico and Frank engaged even more seriously on the task to defeat each other. They were always trying to prove who was the best player among them and, until that moment, there was no winner.

"Come on, Zhang, I don't have the whole day" Nico complained impatiently, when Frank took some minutes to make his next move.

"Don't hurry me, di Angelo!"

The demigods watching their match stared at each other. When Nico and Frank were back to last names, it meant that they were on the verge of going to each other's throats.

The son of Mars took a few more minutes to finally make his move. The sarcastic grin that formed into Nico's lips showed that, probably, the move had not been that good.

"Kneel before the best player of Mythomagic in history, Zhang" Nico said delighted, as he made his last move "You lose."

And he had lost indeed, Frank noticed, seeing the card Nico had just used. Ironically enough, it was the Hades card. The chinese crinkled his nose and pulled his cards down on the floor with the others.

"If you're thinking that I'm going to kneel before you, you're nuts" he growled grumpily.

Frank's answer made all the demigods laugh, but they ended the boys' discussion before it turned into something serious.

They left short after that, going to join their daily activities. Hazel walked their friends to the door, agreeing to meet them again at dinner time. When she turned on her heel to look at her brother, a small smile was plastered on her face.

"Feeling any better?" she asked, arching her eyebrows.

Nico just nodded. In fact, his friends presence did made him feel better; he had very few time to think about Percy that afternoon and he was thankful for what they did. Because yes, Nico had no doubts that their little get together in his cabin was not mere accident. Hazel probably told them Nico was feeling down and they went there to cheer him up.

"Then we could go dinner with everybody at the mess hall" she suggested.

Nico dark orbs rolled, showing impatience. Sometimes Hazel reminded him how much of a daughter of Hades she truly was... she was so persistent!

" I'm glad you all spent the afternoon with me, but I want to be alone, Hazel" he sighed, sitting on his bunk "Could you do this for me?"

Hazel was unsure about what to do, Nico could see it reflected on her golden eyes and on the nervous way she tugged on her curly hair.

"I don't like when you close up to me, Nico" she argued unsure "I feel terrible because you're struggling with things but you won't let me help. I feel like the worst sister ever.

She looked so genuinely disturbed by that whole situation and the son of Hades hated seeing his sister that way.

"You're a great sister" he assured her "But I need my time alone, you know how things work with me."

Yes, she knew. And that was exactly what she feared.

"Look Hazel, I'm not going to drown into depression again, nor am I going to do anything stupid" he continued, as soon as he realized she was going to say something "I just want to be alone, so I can regain control over my feelings, that's all."

His whole body language and, specially, the determined look on his face made it clear he wouldn't accept any argument Hazel tried. So, even if she still felt uncomfortable with the idea of leaving her brother alone, the daughter of Pluto agreed. Nico smiled at her, trying to pass some reassurance.

"Thanks" he told her sincerely "Now, if I were you, I'd run to the bathroom to take a shower. Your boyfriend is waiting for you and you shouldn't leave him all by himself for too much time. You know Piper is one of the few daughters of Aphrodite with some common-sense."

* * *

Percy woke up with the sound of someone knocking desperately at his door. He growled, annoyed and rolled on the bed, pulling a pillow over his head to muffle the sound. The knocking kept echoing then died down... just to be replaced by the noise of someone opening his door with no ceremony and, short after, Annabeth's voice was heard.

"Seaweed Brain, get the hell out of this bed now" she said bossy "We have lots to do for today. That beach won't decorate itself until sunset if we stay here, you're wasting our time. Did you remember to invite our friends to the party, yesterday?"

That question was enough to make Percy's sleepy brain going alert. He got the pillow away from his head and his blanket flew across the room, as he stared at Annabeth with a horrified expression on his face. His eyes searched for the clock on his bedside table, just to find out that was almost half past ten in the morning. Annabeth got the answer to her question before Percy said anything.

"You forgot!" she said mad "I can't believe you forgot to invite our friends! Percy, you definitely has the head full of kelp, how do you want to throw a party without any guests?"

And wasting no more time, Percy jumped out of bed, looking for his clothes around his room. Shit, shit, shit. How could he forget such a thing? What was he thinking?

"Shit, I knew I was forgetting something important" he grumbled, putting on his jeans over his pajamas "Why haven't we invited everybody sooner?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes impatiently.

"I wanted to, but you were paranoid that Nico would find out about the party and spoil the surprise" she answered on a terrible mood "I don't care about how you're gonna invite everyone in so short time, but you're gonna fix this. I did not spend three whole weeks planning this goddamn party and listening to your annoying babbling, just so you could mess everything up in the end."

"I don't babble!" Percy protested, taking of his current grey t-shirt and putting on his bright orange camp t-shirt.

"'Oh, we're not playing this song, Nico hates this band'" Annabeth said, on a really bad impersonation of her best friend "'Ah, Nico likes strawberry cake best. What it Nico doesn't like my present? Annabeth, if someone tells Nico about the party? Oh man, I miss spending time with Nico. Nico, Nico, Nico..."

Percy's cheeks got a strong shade of red, as Annabeth kept her impersonation. He didn't really talk like that... did he?

"You're being over dramatic" he mumbled ashamed.

"No, I'm not. You don't have an idea of how much you talk about Nico. Now, go fix your mess, while I go to the beach to start putting our plan in action. Please, talk to Jason, Piper and Leo first and ask them to go help me at the beach.

The son of Poseidon put on his shoes quickly, murmuring an 'okay' on the process. He was half way to the door, when Annabeth called him again.

"What?"

"Go to the Hermes cabin when you're finished. Travis said that they got Nico's present.

A bright smile appeared on Percy's lips and, hurrying up, he ran out of the cabin.

* * *

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

The strident chant echoed through the entire cabin, followed by the annoying noise of whistling and making Nico jump out of his bed in panic. His heart was thumping frantically against his chest, while he tried to reasoning what the hell was happening there. The sight of Hazel, Jason, Piper, Leo and Frank gathered around his bed, wearing the most ridiculous party hats and smiling like a bunch of idiots was answer enough for him. Hazel was holding a purple frosting cupcake, with a lit up candle on top of it.

"What the fuck was that for? Do you want to give me a heart attack?" he grumbled furiously.

There was confetti all over his bed and, before he could even open his mouth to say anything else, Jason shoved a party hat onto his head.

"It's your birthday, Ghost King" the son of Jupiter stated happily "Smile at least this once and don't act like the grumpy cat we know you are."

"I'll show you the grumpy cat" he said, getting rid of the stupid hat.

Nico was still a little sleepy and shaking, but he tried to get out of the bed nonetheless. Hazel grabbed him and almost shoved the cupcake right into his face, as she forced her brother to stay where he was.

"Sit down and blow out the candle, now" she said, glaring at her brother "Don't forget to make a wish."

He glared back at Hazel, but stayed on his place and, mumbling something only he could hear, the boy blew out the candle. Everyone clapped their hands and, honestly, Nico felt extremely ridiculous, but he shut his mouth.

He was not in the mood for celebrations. When he'd said that to Hazel, he was damn serious. He appreciated their gesture, their trying to cheer him up; Nico knew their intentions were the best possible, but he wanted to be _alone. _He needed his time to think and rebuild his self-control and he would never be able to do that with his friends constantly checking him out.

That was why, after Jason, Piper and Frank left the cabin and headed to their normal activities, Nico had already set up a plan.

"I'm spending the weekend on Italy" he informed Hazel, as he searched for his clothes on a drawer.

"But I came here so we could have some family time, you can't leave like that!" she argued, making a face.

That attitude was so Nico-like that Hazel almost laughed. Why wasn't she surprised in the least? Still, it bothered her a lot and Nico noticed that.

"It's a short trip, just for a couple of days, I swear" he replied, looking at her seriously "You guys are great, but I can't have you checking me every fifteen minutes."

"You insist on dealing with everything all by yourself when you don't need to."

"This time I do need to deal with it alone. You can't help me, it's a personal thing. Don't be so stubborn, I'll be fine. I'll be back before you can even miss me."

A pout formed on her lips, as Hazel crossed her arms in front of her chest, and Nico had the hardest of times trying not to laugh at that. Hazel looked like a little kid.

"If you don't return in two days, I'll organize a search party. You've been warned."

* * *

In the end, Percy's seaweed brain brought no harm to his and Annabeth's plan. He ran through camp and, fortunately, found Jason, Leo and Piper when they were leaving the Hades Cabin.

Of course, he had to explain the whole thing to his friends, about what he and Annabeth had been doing those last weeks, and specially Jason seemed quite upset (he even called Percy a jerk) for the fact that they were not informed about it sooner. They were willing to help, though.

And as his friends headed to the beach, Percy continued his journey through camp, hunting down every demigod he knew liked Nico. He looked for Hazel, but she was nowhere to be seen. They needed her help to convince Nico into going to the beach later, but founding no trace of her, Percy asked Frank to pass the news about the party to his girlfriend.

When he was finally done inviting everyone, the son of Poseidon made his way to the beach, where Annabeth, Leo, Jason and Piper had already made great progress with the decoration and stuff. But as soon as they saw him, his friends put him to work.

"Good thing you came, Percy" Piper told him cheerfully "Help the boys with the tent, okay?"

"Right, I got it."

Some meters from where Piper and Annabeth were picking up towels and some other things, Jason and Leo were struggling to arm the tent. That was really amusing, especially if you considered the fact that Leo was a son of Hephaestus and was supposed to know how to build things, But although watching them was quite funny, Percy got to work. With three pairs of hands, the work ended up being much easier and they were soon finished.

The girls gave them no rest and, during the passing hours, the five friends worked animatedly, without complaining, Okay, Leo did complained a little when the sun got annoyingly hot, but the glares he received from the other were enough to shut his mumblings.

* * *

"Percy!"

Hazel's voice was heard among all the noise in the place and calling everyone's attention. The daughter of Pluto was running down on their direction, as her dark curls waved against the soft breeze. Percy dropped everything he was holding and met her half way.

"Hazel, calm down" he said, as soon as he reached her.

The son of Poseidon held her arms gently, giving his friend some support as she tried hard to catch her breath. She seemed alarmed, to say the least, and Percy opened his mouth to ask what had happened... but he shut it when Hazel gave him a strong slap on the side of his head, leaving him astonished.

"You idiot!" she shouted madly "Why didn't you tell me you were throwing this surprise party sooner? What gave you the idea that hiding it from everyone for such a long time would be of any good?"

Percy was speechless and his reaction to that was rather slow. Hazel was one of the calmer persons he'd ever met, that kind of action was really odd coming from her. He massaged the spot she had hit him with a bit too much force.

"Gods, what's wrong with you?" he complained.

But the expression on Hazel's face was furious. His golden eyes were shinning more than ever and, although she was many inches shorter, she didn't seem intimidated by Percy at all.

"What's wrong with _me_? What's wrong with _you_? Do you have any idea of what a mess this whole story of you avoiding Nico 'cause of a stupid surprise party brought?"

"What mess?"

Hazel counted to 10 mentally, trying not to lash out on her friend. Her hands rested on her hips, as she casts a tired look at Percy.

"Nico is currently packing his things, Percy" she explained in controlled tone "He thinks you're upset with him about something, he said you're acting all weird for a while and is avoiding him. And now, he also thinks you and Annabeth are back together."

That made no sense to Percy. Why would Nico think he was back with Annabeth? And he was packing? What the hell was happening?

"Annabeth and I are not together!" he defended himself immediately "And where is he going? When is he leaving?"

His heart was beating slightly faster than usual and the idea of Nico leaving camp, specially with any misunderstanding hanging between them, was making Percy nervous.

"He said he was going to Italy and, probably, is talking to Chiron as we speak" she answered.

"Guys, what's wrong?" Jason asked, approaching them.

The other demigods were right behind the son of Jupiter, also waiting for an explanation from Percy and Hazel.

"Long story short, Nico's leaving camp anytime soon and all this work you're having will be in vain" the daughter of Pluto said simply.

"WHAAT?"

Annabeth's hysterical scream was heard. The daughter of Athena had the most horrified expression on her features, as if one of her worst nightmares were turning into reality right in front of her eyes. On a way, that was not far from truth.

"I told you this whole thing of keeping it a secret to everybody was stupid!" she accused fuming mad, glaring coldly at Percy "But do you listen to me? Of course you don't!"

"How would I know that Nico was going to leave camp like that!?"

"Of course he'd leave camp, that's what he does when he's feeling down" she replied "You practically ignored him the past weeks, what did you expected him to do?"

"Come on, guys. There's no need for fighting" Leo tried to reason.

Annabeth was scaring the shit out of him, he had never seen the daughter of Athena that angry before.

"Yes, there is" she insisted "I spent _weeks_ bearing this seaweed brain's hysterical attacks, listening to his grumblings and sickening love sighs. And don't you dare glaring at me like that, just admit it once and for all, okay? Almost everyone on camp has already noticed, or at least is suspicious, that you like Nico way more than as friend."

Percy's cheeks got all flushed, while he felt everybody's glances turn to his direction. He'd kill Annabeth for that! As soon as he regained control over his body movements, of course

"Okay, arguing will lead us nowhere, we're losing focus" Piper stated, bringing back some common sense to their discussion "When will Nico leave camp?"

"When I left our cabin, he was finishing packing before going to talk to Chiron about his trip" Hazel answered.

"Then you should run to the Big House, Percy. It's almost time to get the party started, people should be heading here soon. There's still time for you to fix this misunderstanding and bring Nico here."

"What if he's already gone?" Percy asked, feeling a cold gush of fear spreading through his stomach by that mere possibility.

Why didn't he listen to Annabeth?

"If he's gone, I'll hunt him down through the freaking Italy and bring him back by force" Annabeth said focused "My efforts to plan this party won't be in vain. But now run, seaweed brain! Go after him."

* * *

And Percy ran. He ran like never before, as if his life depended on it. He made his way through various camper who were already heading to the beach, like Piper said they would, and ignoring everyone who tried to stop him. In the end, he didn't even had to ask Chiron if Nico had already left, the son of Hades was coming out of the Big House when Percy reached the place.

For a few moments, Nico seemed surprised to see the other guy there, but he hid quickly any trace of surprise with one of his typical bored expressions.

"Hey Nico, wait" Percy called him, when the younger demigod walked past him without saying a word.

Nico waited. He stopped right where he was and turned to face his friend.

"You're talking to me again!" he retorted ironically.

There was poison on his voice and it made Percy a bit upset, even though he was aware Nico had every right to act that way.

"I never stopped talking to you" Percy mumbled shyly.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I got the wrong idea. I was a little confused 'cause of those weeks you've been ignoring me. Good to know we're fine. See you 'round."

Okay, maybe Percy deserved that answer, he had made a poor choice anyways. Nico had the right to be upset, but knowing that didn't prevent Percy from feeling bad.

"Wait Nico" he called once again, following the son of Hades' fast pace "Let me explain."

When Nico faced him, his ironic expression was nowhere to be seen. In its place was just anger and... what else? Pain, maybe. Percy wouldn't doubt that.

"What are you gonna explain?" the younger boy practically spit out the words "Percy, you gave me the cold shoulder for weeks and now you just walk to me and say we're good? For Hades' sake, not even I am this bipolar."

"I know I've been kinda distant lately, but I swear I didn't mean to hurt you. It was a bad decision I made, but if you come with me, you'll understand the reason to all of this mess."

The last thing Nico seemed to want was to do what Percy asked him to. He casted a dark glare to his friends, his hands buried deep into his jacket's pockets. _That fucking stubborn son of Hades! _Percy thought to himself, why couldn't he do what people asked him for once!?

"Don't be such a pain in the ass, just come with me."

"I'm being a pain in the ass? You act as if you don't even know me for weeks and now want me to forget all this and just follow you, without even knowing where we're going? Come on, Percy. You must remember what my fatal flaw is, hum? Well, I'm being a real son of Hades right now, I'm holding grudges against you."

Peeve? Injustice? Nico had to admit that maybe he was being a jerk to Percy; he had apologized indeed and seemed to be really sorry for his past attitudes, but the son of Hades couldn't help it! Percy had hurt him and, even though he wanted to forget their misunderstanding, just remembering Percy and Annabeth kissing in front of the Athena Cabin made him shiver in repulse.

Percy sighed tired.

"Please Nico. Just this time, do what I'm asking and come with me" he tried one last time "Just come with me. If you still want to leave after that, then leave. I promise I won't stop you."

"And why would I believe you?"

"Because we are friends, after all" Percy managed to say, ignoring the pain Nico's last words had caused him.

The son of Hades had no answer to that, because that was nothing but the truth. His feelings for Percy could be fucked up again, but they were friends.

"Fine, show the way, then" Nico said grumpily.

And then, to his complete and utter shock, Percy held his hand and dragged him through camp, smiling like an idiot the entire time.

* * *

Of all places Nico imagined Percy would take him to, the beach was the most obvious, but the guy was so not prepared for what he found there. His look stared from Percy to the group of demigods gathered on the place, dancing wildly, playing on the shore, playing volleyball against each other. His brain was trying hard to process what exactly was going on there, but the idea seemed just too weird. Was that...? No, it couldn't be. Or could it?

"Happy birthday, Ghost King" Percy's husky voice whispered right into his ear, taking him completely aback.

Gods, when did Percy get so close? Nico tried to control a shudder and stay focused on what was happening there. His eyes searched for Percy's, asking silently for explanations.

"I'm sorry if I made you think I was upset about anything" the son of Poseidon said nervously "But I was so paranoid that you would find out about the party I ended up being a real jerk with you. I'm really sorry."

Nico remained silent, having no clue about what the fuck he should do and having too many conflicting feeling to actually do anything.

"Nico, your silence is making me nervous" he said nonchalantly.

And only the gods knew how serious he was! Nico's silence was killing him. The son of Hades observed everything with wide eyes, but showed no actual reaction; and not knowing what was going on his mind was making Percy apprehensive.

"You did all of this for me?" Nico asked frowning.

Percy nodded, but had no time to say a thing. Soon their friends were right beside them, greeting Nico, wishing him 'happy birthday' and dragging him to join his party. And having nothing else to do, the son of Poseidon followed them.

* * *

To see Nico smiling has always been an unusual experience to Percy. Yes, the Ghost King had improved his social skills after the war, but he still was a person of rare smiles. That was one of the most import traits of his entire personality. Nico di Angelo would not be Nico di Angelo if he kept smiling all the time. It was that particular trait that gave a special meaning to each of his smiles.

That's why, when Percy noticed Nico watching him intently with a genuine smile on his lips - while a bunch of demigods was congratulating him about the party - he knew he'd done something right for once.

And having Nico's approval was one of the best feelings ever.

* * *

The party was up until late night, really close to their curfew. Percy's chances to talk privately to Nico during the celebration was inexistent, even with the son of Poseidon trying hard to get some time alone with the other boy. Nico was always with someone by his side, which was not odd, because he was the birthday boy after all.

When night fell and darkness started taking over the place, they lit up a bonfire and kept the party running.

Couples were dancing, others were making out on the darkest spots on the beach, some people were drinking illegal beer the Stolls had brought... and Percy? Percy was trying to grow some courage to do what he was supposed to, but the courage was not showing up.

His green orbs spotted Nico's figure through the crowd, chatting with Jason and Hazel. He looked so more relaxed than before, so much _happier_. Percy had very few opportunities to talk to Nico since the party started, but even with just those few opportunities the son of Poseidon understood that the italian had no more bad feelings toward him, at least momentarily.

"You should go talk to him" Annabeth stated beside Percy, catching him off guard and scaring the shit out of him "Don't waste this chance. Make our efforts worthy."

The guy took a sip of his drink, trying to calm down, and that attitude caught Annabeth's attention.

"Percy, don't be such a coward!" she said firmly, but she had no real criticism in her voice "You've work so hard preparing this party, don't let your fear keep you from being happy."

"What if he rejects me?" he asked, finally putting into words what was really bothering him.

Because if Percy, until that moment, hadn't talked to Nico and said everything he felt, it was for pure fear of rejection. Gods, his legs turned into jello just for thinking on that possibility. And his fear was so sincere that Annabeth found herself feeling sympathetic.

"If you don't try, you'll never know" she said on her usual rational tone "I know the idea of being rejected is terrifying, but never knowing is not much better. You've fought two wars against monsters that would make any other demigod hide in fear. Opening up with Nico can't be harder than this."

"I think I'd rather face a giant or titan."

Annabeth practically slapped her forehead, not even surprised by that kind of answer coming from Percy. He was called seaweed brain for a reason. The daughter of Athena cast her friend a dark look.

"You're going there right now" she said bossy "For gods' sake, Percy, grow some balls and be a man! Go there, tell Nico how you feel and just be happy. And don't try to come up with an excuse. If you don't do it now, you won't do it anymore."

His eyes searched for anyone on that place that could get him out of that situation, but of course no one was looking at him. Gulping, and without any other choice, Percy handed his half-empty cup to his best friend.

"Wish me luck."

* * *

Nico walked silently beside Percy, while they both made their way from the noisy madness Nico's birthday party had turned into.

Until that moment the son of Hades still had some difficulty to believe that Percy had had that much trouble just to make him that party. Everything seemed so surreal and unbelievable, but was what truly happened. Yes, Nico still remembered those weeks that seaweed brain had ignored him, and he planned on having a little chat and complaining a lot with Percy about it, but the fact that the other demigod had done all that for him (just for him!) made Nico feel so warm inside that he decided to drop the subject temporarily.

They walked side by side on a calm silence and walked to the pier. Percy sat down on the wooden surface, taking off his shoes and dipping his feet into the water, and tapped the place next to him. The son of Hades sat beside him, but made no move to take of his shoes.

"So?" Nico asked, when Percy kept quiet "What do you want to talk to me that's so urgent?"

The son of Poseidon looked anywhere but at Nico and that was disturbing. Percy always faced someone when talking to them. The fact that he was avoiding Nico's gaze right now was, at least, weird.

"Did you really bring me here to stay quiet?"

"No. I'm sorry" the green eyed guy replied quickly "I'm kinda nervous."

Define what he was feeling as 'kinda nervous' was kindness of him. Percy felt like he was going to throw up at any time. He didn't feel butterflies in his stomach... he felt a bunch of crazy pterodactyls flying madly into his stomach.

"Did you like your party?" he asked, some moments later.

"You now I'm not a big fan of parties and having too many people around is annoying."

A twinge of disappointment hit Percy in the gut, as soon as the words left Nico's lips.

"But yours and Annabeth's intentions were the best possible and you worked hard on it" Nico continued, offering his friend one of his rare smiles "So yeah, I liked it, and I thank you guys for doing this for me. I never had a surprise party before."

And facing his friend for the first time since they sat there, Percy smiled back at him.

"You deserve everything good on this world."

The words escaped his lips before Percy could contain himself and he just realized what he'd said when a light shade of pink spread over Nico's cheeks. Great Percy, you're doing just great progress with these nonsensical phrases.

"I mean… shit! I don't even know what I mean, actually."

"You _never_ know, Percy."

They stared each other for some moments, before bursting into laughter. It was such a silly thing, they were aware of it. Nico's joke was not even _that_ funny, but being next to him caused that kind of effect on Percy; he always ended up turning into a silly giggling idiot and tended to do stupid things.

Their chuckles gradually died down, until all was left was a silly grin onto their features. Nico was the first to break eye contact, choosing to look up to the breathtaking night sky upon them.

Percy tried to find ways to form any coherent thoughts into his mind, ways he could approach the subject he really wanted to, but all his ideas seemed so dumb and that was leaving him on the verge of despair. He knew quite well that he had to talk to Nico once and for all, but gods, that was so freaking hard! And he was just terrible with words. Words were Annabeth's expertise; Percy has always been on to act, rather than talk.

"What?" Nico asked, noticing Percy's intense gaze over him.

And that was when, using all the courage he still had (and even some he didn't have), Percy did what he did best, he acted instead of talking. Grabbing the front of Nico's shirt firmly, he brought the other demigod closer and kissed him hard. Just later Percy would consider the idea that Nico could have beaten up the shit out of him for that act.

The son of Hades' eyes widened immediately, as his brain tried to process what the fuck was happening there. For his father's pants, that was not happening for real, was it?

Nico's lack of reaction was enough to make Percy pull back and the expression of pure shock plastered on the boy's face made the son of Poseidon sure that he had screwed up bad this time.

"I'm sorry Nico" he apologized in a hurry, hiding his face with his hands "My gods, I'm so sorry. I don't know what's happening to me."

His head was spinning and now Percy really felt like he was going to throw up. What has he done? What had he done? Nico's silence just made everything worse. Why wasn't he saying anything?

"Nico, I swear I can explain" he tried once again, on the verge of having a heart attack.

And before he could regret even more, Percy forced himself to continue.

"Since Annabeth and I broke up, you and I got so close and, I don't know if I got it the wrong way, or if I'm just imagining things and mixing things, but fuck, I think I fell for you without even noticing and now all I can think of is how I need you around to feel okay and how I'm always daydreaming about you whenever I'm doing nothing important."

"Percy"

"I swear I don't know how it happened because, fuck, I never thought I'd fall for another guy, but screw this, I don't even care."

His words were falling from his lips and he couldn't do anything to stop it, even if he wanted to. He'd lost control over it completely.

"Percy"

"These last few weeks we spent apart were the worst weeks of my entire life, but I was so afraid to say something wrong that I just acted like a real idiot. And now I acted like an even bigger idiot, because you're probably disgusted or angry with me and you'll even hate me for what I did. But I never intended on fucking up our friendship, I'm sorry, I'm so sor…"

"PERCY!"

Nico's shout was enough to make him quiet. His sea green eyes stared nervously at the other boy. His feet tapping into the water methodically.

"Shut up"

And before the son of Poseidon had time to say anything, Nico's lips were once more covering his and his brain went blank. By reflex, Percy closed his eyes and returned the kiss, before Nico changed his mind. And gods, he prayed that was not just his ADHD mind imagining things, because kissing Nico was so fucking good. The pterodactyls on his stomach were flying on psychedelic loopings.

Abandoning any doubts he still had, Percy embraced the younger demigod by the waste, bringing him closer, and deepened the kiss. The son of Hades' taste on his tongue and the things he made Percy feel. The sensation of his hands tangling on Percy's hair… everything was too perfect and too inebriating and Percy even felt dizzy. He wished that moment could last forever; he wished that he could just stop time and live that way for eternity. Just the two of them and that overwhelming feeling until the end of days.

But of course the moment couldn't last forever, that would be humanly impossible. When they pulled apart, however, was for mere need of oxygen, and with irregular breathings and their faces blushing a bit, they stared at each other.

"I like you too" Nico told him simply.

And Percy felt as if the weight of the world was taking from his shoulders, as a bright smile spread over his lips.

Nico looked away some instants later, biting his lip and returning to his initial position, completely sheepish and making Percy smile even brighter.

* * *

When they headed back to the party, great part of the guests was already gone and just then they realized how much time had truly passed. Jason, Hazel and Annabeth looked like they were struggling to hold back the urge to question their friends, because they just kept glancing anxiously at the two guys.

Noticing that he was on the verge of being interrogated, Nico mumbled a quick 'good night' and got the hell out of there before the other demigods could even open their mouths. Percy was by his side seconds later and they made their way to the cabins area together.

"Wait" Percy called, reaching for Nico's hand, as soon as the younger demigod reached the stairs to the porch of his cabin "I never gave you your present."

In the dim light of those greek fire torches, Percy saw confusion appear onto Nico's features.

"I thought the party was my present."

"Naaah, the party was the party" Percy answered, fishing up something into his coat's pocket and handing it to the son of Hades "This is your present, but it comes with a question you'll have no choice but to answer."

Nico took the relatively small package. His fingers traced the paper wrapping the object, before ripping it with no ceremony.

"It can't be!" Nico said astonished "Where did you get this?"

"I have contacts."

The younger glared at him.

"Percy, I lost count of how many times I travelled to Japan to get this Mythomagic expansion pack, but never found the thing" he said, still not believing what he had in hands "This is sold out for months now."

Percy just shrugged.

"Connor and Travis got it for me, don't know how they managed to."

He was so distracted by his present, that Nico just nodded quietly. He wanted to open the box and look thoroughly at each card so badly. Percy cleared his throat, calling his attention some moments later.

"Yes?"

"Don't you want to know what the question is?"

For a few seconds, Nico asked himself what the hell Percy was talking about, but he soon remembered the older demigod's previous words.

"Sure. What's the question?"

"Would you be my boyfriend?"

Now that he had already opened up his heart to Nico, asking that question was way easier, although he still felt his legs quite numb. The son of Hades seemed to lose his words, because he was looking at Percy, as if trying to distinguish what was real and what was not.

"Obviously, if you say no, I'll have to take back the present."

Faking impatience, Nico rolled his eyes.

"You're not giving me many options" he said, arching his eyebrows "This is a very rare expansion pack, after all."

"Giving you options was not really my intention."

Shaking his head slightly, the son of Hades stepped closer to Percy and, this time, neither of them looked away.

"For the present" Nico told him teasingly.

"Of course"

And wasting not even a second more, Percy pulled Nico into a fiery kiss.

- xXxXx -

**An Author's Note:**

I really hope all of you enjoyed this story.

Reviews are always welcome.

_**percico-feels**_


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